PonyFans.com

I realize this is a "no-brainer" in terms of what schools SMU would prefer to be aligned with from an academic standpoint but watching the Houston @ TCU basketball game tonight I sure wish we had been invited to the Big XII long ago. Much to be said for playing against your former SWC mates and playing more regional games. I'm looking forward to ACC hoops competition but the Big XII is a good hoops conference as well. I'm just not sure who our ACC "rival" will be or if we will even have one.

We have to play Cal and Stanford every year. I suspect due to other sports, that Stanford will emerge as our ACC rival. Although FSU has earned a lot of scorn in recent weeks. We have a lot in common with Duke, the U, BC, Syracuse, Wake Forest, UNC and UVA, as well. We just won't play them very often.

Charleston Pony wrote:I realize this is a "no-brainer" in terms of what schools SMU would prefer to be aligned with from an academic standpoint but watching the Houston @ TCU basketball game tonight I sure wish we had been invited to the Big XII long ago. Much to be said for playing against your former SWC mates and playing more regional games. I'm looking forward to ACC hoops competition but the Big XII is a good hoops conference as well. I'm just not sure who our ACC "rival" will be or if we will even have one.

CP, there is definitely something to be said about local rivalries, but to pine for the old days is futile as we now have a prominent BOT member publicly state what most of us always suspected, TCU & Baylor black-balled us from the B12

We are in a much better place BB-wise as the ACC is the premier conference. And while they are currently down a bit while the B12 is up, i don’t think B12 BB success is sustainable.

The ACC has better schools, located in better markets, and most importantly, have alumni who are wealthier. In the NIL world we now live in, that is important

Stillwater or Tallahassee? Lubbock or Clemson? Houston or Boston?

EastStang wrote:Stillwater or Tallahassee? Lubbock or Clemson? Houston or Boston?

Again...no contest between schools' academic standings and their physical locations. For me, the concern about where college athletics has gone is all about the lack of regional rivalries...at least in SMU's case. I hope we continue playing TCU because I don't see any school in the ACC coming even close to replacing them as our rival. I look at Clemson and don't see them as having a true ACC rival. Their rival (SC) plays in the SEC but if you are good enough, there is plenty of interest from fans of your opponent's schools. Let's just hope SMU can be competitive with the upper echelon of the ACC

I agree we should keep TCU if possible. The ACC is the last big Conference with several Privates. Maybe a contest among Duke, Wake, Miami, Boston College, Stanford and SMU for some kind of trophy? I wish like Clemson/SC, playing TCU late in the season like Thanksgiving weekend would be fun.

AusTxPony wrote:I agree we should keep TCU if possible. The ACC is the last big Conference with several Privates. Maybe a contest among Duke, Wake, Miami, Boston College, Stanford and SMU for some kind of trophy? I wish like Clemson/SC, playing TCU late in the season like Thanksgiving weekend would be fun.

I agree, too, but isn't "Keeping TCU" pretty much up to TCU at this point, since they were the ones to announce the "pause"? I do wonder, after a few years of not playing them, whether that absence will make hearts grow fonder or just fade into novel obscurity ... will depend partly, I'm sure, on who gets to raise the skillet later this year.

In that vein, fairly certain there are more than a few Sooners who would like another chance at Bedlam, too, but aren't likely to see it for quite some time.

EastStang wrote:Stillwater or Tallahassee? Lubbock or Clemson? Houston or Boston?

Stillwater, Lubbock, and Boston. Little difference between rural Tx/Ok and rural FL/SC.
Boston preferable to Houston in every way. Glad we have a home at the big boy table
regardless of where we play. All that matters.